


The Missing Game

by SparrowEyedGirl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, M/M, Supernatural - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-05-28 16:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6337462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparrowEyedGirl/pseuds/SparrowEyedGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When their parents disappeared, they left behind a note, a name, and the promise that the name had left as the only clues.  When he abandoned them, they went searching for the next best thing, the only other people who were also looking for him.  His sons.  But when four paths collide and intertwine that were never meant to, sparks fly, heads butt, and dangerous things happen.  But maybe, some day, they can forget that this all happened... After they find their parents, that is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Prologue

The black Nissan Maxima sped down the road, music blasting from inside. A woman with straight, red hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail, stray pieces framing her face, was driving.

“How much further?” she asked the passenger, who was a male with short, brown hair.

“Not far,” he replied, never looking away from his laptop. “Take a left here.”

The driver obeyed, barely slowing down. The passenger rolled his eyes, he was used to her driving by now.

“Really think he's gonna help us?” the passenger asked, looking away from his laptop and focusing the driver, whose eyebrows furrowed.

“He promised mom he would.”

“Yeah, but you heard mom talk about him. He doesn't seem like the type to keep the promise.”

“He better,” the driver replied, her voice malicious.

 

They eventually arrived at the beat down motel. The driver parked the car and got out. The passenger followed suite, leaving his laptop buried under their duffel bags.

With a look exchanged, the two walked up to the room they knew he would be staying in, and knocked. The driver hid her shaky hands in her oversized jacket pocket, while the passenger sighed heavily.

_He'll help us._

_We'll see._

After a few moments, a man with dark, curly hair flecked with gray answered the door. The woman quickly took in his appearance, disheveled, dark stubble covering his jaw, dark circles under his eyes. She sighed. This was the best they had.

_Let me do the talking._

_You got it._

“John Winchester?” the woman asked.

“Who the hell are you,” he asked. Though, the way he said it, it wasn't a question, almost like he already knew them. Ellie quirked a brow.

“Ellie Weston. That's my brother, Nox. You knew our mother.”

His eyes seemed to go wide for a moment, but he played it off quickly, furrowing his brows.

“I know a lot of people. Enlighten me.” Ellie sighed in annoyance. She didn't like his tone.

“Red hair. Green eyes, about 5'8”. She was a Seer, and she helped you a lot of times. Her name was Elizabeth.”

John nodded in remembrance, then, after looking behind them, moved aside and gestured them in. The two siblings entered the motel room, which had pictures and articles taped over the walls. Ellie raised an arched eyebrow, but didn't voice any questions.

“What brings you here?” John asked from behind them. Ellie turned to him, while Nox continued to look at the walls.

“Our parents are missing.”

“I'm sorry to hear that. That doesn't answer my question.”

Ellie rolled her eyes and pulled the folded piece of lined paper from her back pocket.

“Explain this then,” she challenged, handing him the note. John sighed and took the note, unfolding it and reading over it quickly.

“You promised my mom you would help us if anything happened to her,” Ellie added when he folded the note once again and handed it back to her.

“That I did,” John replied with a sigh. “Look--”

“No. You are not backing out of this,” Ellie said, her voice hard. “We need to find them. We know they're still alive, and it looks like you've solved your other case, so you're sure as hell not wasting your time. The truth of the matter is, we don't know what this thing is and... we need some help. Mom always said you were an ass, but you knew what you were doing.”

Ellie was surprised when John cracked a small smile.

“What do you have so far?”

 

John was still looking over what they had, occasionally leafing through a worn-down journal, when Ellie and Nox decided to go to bed. John gave them the liberty of one of the two beds, so the siblings laid down on either side, facing away from each other. Soon after, her brother fell asleep, but Ellie stayed awake, studying John.

The man was twitchy, he was paranoid. Ellie noticed he would occasionally look back at the two Weston's, not noticing that Ellie was only pretending to be asleep. She heard him muttering to himself. From what Ellie noticed, she knew something wasn't right.

 

Ellie was the first to wake up. She sighed, sitting up straight, and stretching upwards. It took only one look around for her to know that something wasn't right. John wasn't here, and neither was his duffel. Ellie quickly kicked the blankets off of her and jumped out of the bed, waking her younger brother in the process.

“Ellie?” he asked, his voice groggy.

“What's wrong?” Ellie didn't answer him right away, instead looking out the window.

“Dammit!” she yelled, pounding the wall.

“What?” her brother demanded.

“John's damn truck is gone!”

“Okay, so, maybe he just went out.”

“No,” Ellie said, turning away from the window. “No, he left us. Last night he kept acting... weird, talking to himself, looking at us. He was paranoid, Nox.”

“Okay so... what now?”

“We track him down, what else?” Ellie said. Nox nodded and stood from the bed. The two grabbed clothes from their designated bags, Ellie going into the bathroom and quickly changing. She exited once she was done, pulling her hair back into her usual ponytail.

“Alright, let's go find this bastard,” she muttered, kneeling beside the bed and looking under it, searching for their bag of weapons.

“Dammit!” she yelled, her eyes wide. The bag was missing.

“What now?”

“He took our weapons,” she muttered, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Nox's eyes widened, and Ellie shook her head, hitting the carpeted floor with the palms of her hands.

“Fuck!” she yelled. “How the hell did I let this happen?!”

“Come on, Ellie, it's not your fault.”

The older sister sighed and shook her head, standing up and grabbing the keys to her car.

“Surprised he left the car behind,” she muttered, grabbing her bag from the ground and leaving the motel room. Unlocking the car, she threw her bag in the backseat and got into the driver's seat. She started the car once her brother had settled himself into the passenger seat, the music from the night before resuming at the same, loud volume. Ellie sighed, her anxiety calming a little.

Nox pulled out his laptop, resuming the program's to track John's cell phone, and Ellie, common sense telling her they should get gas in the car, reached into her bag once again. She pulled out her wallet, only to see that her entire array of credit cards was missing. She laughed, leaning her head on the seat.

“He took our credit cards,” she informed her brother, who stared at her empty wallet.

“That bastard is going to die if it's the last thing I do,” she said, throwing her wallet in the backseat. She threw the car into reverse, and sped out of the parking lot.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

 

“What have you got?” Ellie asked, making a sharp right turn on the highway.

“Nothing. Still nothing,” Nox replied. “One of these days, you're gonna kill us.”

“Really? 'Cause it's not my driving that almost killed _you_.”

“Shut up,” Nox muttered after a pause.

Ellie laughed and rolled her eyes.

“It's like he dropped off the face of the fucking planet.”

“Hey. Language, baby bro.”

“Shut the fuck up. You have no right to tell me to watch my mouth, you curse like a sailor.”

“Touche.”

There was a silence between the two, the only noise the music that Ellie had playing. She sighed, picking up her cellphone from the cup holder.

“What're you doing?”

“I'm trying his cell phone again.”

The tone rang four times, then went to a voice mail message. Ellie's eyebrows furrowed.

“ _'This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean – (785) 555-0179. He can help.'_ ”

“What the fuck?” she muttered, hanging up the phone.

“What?”

“John has a voice mail now.”

“Really? His number's been out of service for two months.”

“Yeah, listen,” Ellie replied, re-dialing the number and putting the phone on speaker. The same voice mail played, and Nox looked at the phone in confusion.

“Okay, what the fuck?”

“Yeah, I know,” Ellie replied, flipping the phone closed and throwing it back into the cup holder.

“But we can't track his cell phone.”

“I don't know, Nox. Maybe it isn't his cell phone we should be tracking.”

“Should we try Dean's cell phone then?”

“Yeah, type it in,” Ellie replied, leaning her elbow on her car door and rubbing her forehead.

 

“Ankeney, Iowa,” Nox said, looking up from his computer.

“How far?”

“Few hours. If we haul ass we could make it there by tomorrow night.”

“Well you know me, always hauling ass,” Ellie said, pressing the gas pedal. The car sped up significantly, and Nox rolled his eyes.

“So what's the plan?”

“What do you mean?”

“When we get there and find them, what are we gonna say?”

“'Hey, I'm Ellie, this is Nox, your dad stole from us and owes us a huge favor, we need you to help us find him'.”

“Like they're going to believe us, Ellie.”

“We'll tell him where their dad was staying when we found him or something, I don't know! We'll figure out something.”

“Whatever you say.”

Ellie rolled her eyes, not bothering to answer her brother.

 

“Be careful up here, it's a speed trap,” Nox told his sister, looking at his laptop. “Three cops up ahead.”

Ellie nodded, reducing her speed from 100 to 70.

“Realistically, there's a small chance they'd even believe us. I say we don't give too much out until we know we can trust them.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Ellie replied. “We should probably park the car somewhere else, show up with a 'surprise bitch' kind of attitude.”

Nox snorted, rolling his eyes. “Just don't forget where we parked. Or park illegally.”

Ellie laughed, increasing the speed of the car from 70 back to 100. The car sped down the dark highway like a bullet.

“How much longer 'till we're there?”

“A while, so sit tight.”

 

Around two in the morning, they arrived at the small town of Ankeney, Iowa.

“Park over there, it's close to the church,” Nox said, pointing to a dingy parking lot.

Ellie nodded, pulling into a parking space and turning off the car. She turned to her brother, who raised an eyebrow at her.

“Remember, we're here to find John. Not get attached,” she said seriously. Nox rolled his eyes and got out of the car.

Ellie followed, and the two got their bags out of the backseat, then went over to the trunk. They grabbed the guns John left them – only two – and tucked them into their waistbands after checking if they were fully loaded.

“Tell me, why do we need these again?”

“In case things go south. I'd rather kill them than end up dead – or worse, have you end up dead,” Ellie responded, the serious tone still coloring her voice.

Nox nodded in agreement, and the two siblings walked to the church. Gothic style, stained glass windows, the definition of creepy. Chills ran down both of their spines.

“Sounds like shit's going down,” Nox stated after they both heard screaming and gunshots from inside. Ellie sighed.

“They're big boys, they can handle themselves,” Ellie replied, hopping up onto the hood of the Impala and sitting down, feet dangling a few inches off the ground.

_It's not them I'm worried about._

_Oh, she'll be fine._

Nox sighed, leaning against the black Impala, both of them patiently waiting for the two to exit the church, which wasn't until a few minutes later. They were both freakishly tall, one with shaggy hair who had an injury on his left arm, and the other with short hair. The final one to exit was a girl with blonde hair, significantly shorter than the two brothers.

The shorter of the two brothers saw Ellie and her brother and paused, glaring at them and walking over to them.

“What the hell is this?” he demanded.

“Now, now, no need to get pissy,” Ellie said, hopping off the hood. “Dean, right?”

“Who the hell are you and why were you sitting on my car?”

“I'm Ellie. That's my brother, Nox.”

“We need to find your dad. Not to get to the nitty gritty, but your dad has our shit,” Nox explained.

“So why should we help you?”

Ellie turned to the voice – the taller of the two brothers. “Sam, I assume? Yeah, you're gonna help us because we're not getting out of your hair until you do. Okay?”

Sam glared at her. “How do you know my name?”

_Should we tell them?  
Hell no! It's none of their damn business._

“John told us, not that it matters. And it's besides the point.”

“How do you know our dad.”

“We came to him for help, and he ditched us, but not before stealing our shit.”

“What do we get if we help you?” Sam asked, crossing his arms.

“All the fame, glory, and sex you could ask for,” Ellie replied sarcastically, crossing her arms.

All three boys looked at her, and she rolled her eyes. “You never have to worry about us bothering you again. Hell, you could act like it never even happened if you wanted to.”

Dean sighed, walking to the trunk of the Impala and bringing out a flask, forcing Ellie to take it.

“Drink.”

Ellie raised an eyebrow. “You tryin' to drug me or something? Because chances are a pick up line and a shot of vodka would've probably worked.”

Nevertheless, Ellie raised the flask to her lips and drank, tasting nothing but water.

“Holy water?” she asked, handing the flask to him. “Yeah, no steam. Not a demon.”

Dean rolled his eyes and handed the flask to Nox, who also took a drink.

“I feel a slight tingling sensation in the back of my throat.”

Ellie laughed, rolling her eyes. Nox smiled, handing the flask back to Dean. “Not a demon, though. Sorry to disappoint.”

The two Winchesters exchanged a look, before Dean shook his head and turned back to them.

“Fine, we'll help you. But as soon as we find him, I want you out of my sight.”

Ellie smirked, holding out her hand. Dean mimicked her smirk, spitting on his hand and shaking hands with her. Ellie didn't flinch, though her mind screamed how bad of an idea this was.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

 

The four of them walked to the garage where Ellie parked the car.

“Where the hell is my car?” Ellie wondered out loud.

“Where'd you park it?” she heard Sam ask.

“Right there!” she exclaimed, gesturing to the space where she parked.

“You mean where it says 'illegal parking'?”

Ellie, with wide eyes, looked back and up at Sam. “You're joking.”

“Uh, no, there's a sign.”

She glared at Nox, whose eyes were just as wide as hers. “Why didn't you tell me about that?!”

“I didn't notice it!” he hissed, and Ellie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Well, boys. Looks like we're riding with you.”

“Wonderful,” Dean replied, sighing and turning around and leaving the garage. His brother followed, as did Nox. Ellie did as well, but she lingered behind to make a phone call. Dialing his phone number, she held the phone to her ear and waited.

_“Hello?”_ a groggy voice answered.

“Hey, Bobby, it's Ellie Weston. Sorry for calling so late... early... whatever.”

She heard Bobby sigh. _“What is it Ellie? You alright?”_

“Yeah, I'm fine. It's my car.”

There was a pause. _“What happened to it.”_

“I parked it illegally and it got towed. Can you keep in your yard? I promise I'll come back for it and pay you back. It's just.... a little hard to explain.”

_“Where is it?”_

“Ankeney. It's in Iowa.”

_“Dammit, Ellie, that car's like your child.”_

“I didn't see the damn sign, okay?!”

There was another pause, and Ellie heard Bobby sigh again. _“Yeah, I'll figure something out.”_

“Thanks Bobby, I appreciate it.”

_“Any luck on your parents?”_

“I thought we had some luck but it fell through. We might have something else, but I'm not sure. I'll get back to you on it.”

_“I hope it works out.”_

“Yeah... yeah, I do, too. Thanks again, Bobby.”

_“See you soon.”_

With that, Ellie hung up, and caught up with her brother.

 

“Look, my brother and I showed up as they were walking out of the church, we didn't see anything,” Ellie insisted, and the police officer sighed. He nodded, walking over to Nox, who said almost the same thing as Ellie.

After he spoke to Nox, the police officer went over to Dean, taking a statement from him. Ellie watched as the oldest Winchester rolled his eyes, and got back into his car.

Ellie sighed, looking at Nox and gesturing to the car. They both walked towards it, getting in the backseat.

“Who is that girl anyway?” Ellie asked, noticing how Dean was watching his brother talk to the girl who walked out of the church with them.

“Lori.”

“Oh, well that clears it up, thanks.”

Dean rolled his eyes, looking over his shoulder at her. “It doesn't matter. We're leaving town.”

It was Ellie's turn to roll her eyes. “Okay, Dean,” she muttered as Sam got into the car.

“We could stay,” Dean suggested after studying his brother for a moment. Sam shook his head, and Dean focused his eyes back on the road, starting the car and driving off.

_Why would they want to stay?_

Ellie looked over at her brother, quirking an eyebrow.

_Really? Isn't it obvious?_

_Not to me._

_Because he thinks Lori's cute._

_I mean –_

_It doesn't matter. We're only here to find John._

 

Ellie walked out of the bar, followed by Dean.

“How much did you make there, bud?”

“85.”

“125.”

“Dammit!”

Ellie laughed. “I told you, I always win.”

“How?” Dean demanded.

“'Cause I'm cute and I have a nice ass, why else?”

Dean rolled his eyes as they got closer to the car.

“Who won?” Nox asked, though he already knew the answer.

“I did, of course.”

“Of course,” Nox agreed, laughing.

“You know, we could get day jobs once in awhile,” Sam said.

“Hunting's our day job. And the pay is crap,” Dean replied.

“Agreed.”

“Yeah, but hustling pool, credit-card scams? It's not the most honest thing in the world, Dean.”

“Well let's see – honest... fun and easy. There's no contest. Besides, we're good at it, it's what we were raised to do.”

_No surprise there._

_Seriously._

“Yeah, well, how we were raised was jacked.”

“Yeah, says you. We got a new gig or what?”

“Maybe. Oasis Plains, Oklahoma. Not far from here. Gas company employee, Dustin Burwash.”

“Supposedly died from creutzfeldt-jakob,” Nox added.

“From what?” Dean asked.

_Seriously?_

_Dude, I don't even know what that means._

_Seriously Ellie?!_

_Yes! Just give the un-scientific name!_

“Human mad cow disease.”

“Mad cow... wasn't that on Oprah?” Dean mused, and Ellie rolled her eyes.

“You watch Oprah?” she asked.

Dean paused, avoiding eye contact with her.

_That's a yes._

_Definitely._

“So this guy eats a bad burger, why is it our kind of thing?”

“Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration,” Sam explained. “It takes months, even years for the damage to appear. But this guy, Dustin, sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour, maybe less.”

“Okay, that's weird,” Ellie mused, leaning against the Impala, her forearms supporting her weight.

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, looking at her. She looked right back. “Now, it could be a disease, it could be something much nastier.”

“All right, Oklahoma,” Dean agreed, and they all moved to get in the car. “Man, work, work, work. No time to spend my money.”

Ellie looked at Nox, both of them rolling their eyes, and got into the backseat.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three

 

By morning, they arrived in Oklahoma. They immediately drove to the gas company, looking for the friend of the deceased man they read about.

After they parked the car and they all got out, they walked to a man that was walking outside.

“Travis Weaver?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, that's right,” the man, tall with chin-length, brown hair that was combed back, replied.

“Are you the Travis who worked with Uncle Dusty?” Dean asked.

_Where the fuck is he going with this?_

_Just roll with it._

“Dustin never mentioned nephews... or a niece.”

“Really? Because he mentioned you. He said you were the greatest,” Dean replied.

“Oh he did?”

“So, we wanted to ask you – what exactly happened out there?”

“I'm not sure,” Travis told them with a shrug. “He fell in the sinkhole, I went to the truck to get some rope, and by the time I got back...”

“What'd you see?” Ellie asked, crossing her jacket-clad arms.  
“Nothin'. Just Dustin.”

“No wounds, or anything?”

“Well he was bleeding from his eyes and his ears, his nose, but that's it.”

“Do you think it could be this whole 'mad cow' thing?” Nox asked, mimicking his sister's position.

“I don't know. That's what the doctors are saying.”

“But if it was, he would've acted strange beforehand, like dementia, loss of motor control, you ever notice anything like that?”

“Nah, no way. But if it wasn't some disease, what the hell was it?”

“That's a good question,” Dean replied.

“You know, can you tell us where this happened?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah,” Travis replied, writing down the address.

They thanked him, then got back in the car, speeding off to the house.

 

When they arrived, Dean parked and they all got out of the car.

“What do you think?”

“I don't know,” Sam replied. “But if that Travis guy was right, it happened pretty damn fast.”

“So, what?” Ellie asked, ducking under the caution tape. “Some creature chewed on his brain.”

“Stranger things have happened,” Nox muttered. “Besides, there'd be an entry wound. Sounds like this thing worked from inside.”

“Looks like there's only room for one,” Dean said. He looked over at Ellie. “You're the smallest.”

She glared at him.

“Dean, we have no idea what's down there,” Sam said as Dean grabbed some rope. He handed the rope to Ellie, who looked at it for a minute before sighing and grabbing the rope, attaching it to her waist.

“Don't you dare drop me,” she grumbled unhappily.

“I won't drop you,” Dean replied. “Besides, what do you weigh, like, 100 pounds?”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I see why you're single, Winchester.”

She walked over to the sinkhole, sitting down so her feet were dangling in. Nox handed her a flashlight, and she nodded her thanks.

_I'd feel a lot safer if you were holding the rope._

_I know. Just be careful, Ellie._

Ellie sighed, slowly lowering herself down into the sinkhole. For a few moments, she looked around, glowing flashlight in hand. No tunnels, no holes in the ground, nothing.

Something shiny caught her attention, and, eyebrows furrowed, she bent down beside it.

“What the hell?” she asked, picking up a dead beetle from the small colony. She quickly counted, and counted 10.

“Doing okay down there?” Dean called.

“Yeah, get me out of here,” she replied, still examining the beetle.

She was pulled out of the sinkhole, and once they got the rope detached from her waist, they got back into the Impala.

“So, you found some beetles in a hole in the ground,” Dean said as Ellie handed the bug to Sam. She leaned against the front seat, her forearms grazing Sam's back. “That's shocking, Ellie.”

“There were no tunnels, no tracks, no evidence of any other kind of creature down there,” Ellie replied, rolling her eyes at him.

“You know, some beetles do eat meat. Now it's usually dead meat--”

“How many did you find down there?” Dean asked her, looking at her in the rear view mirror.

“Ten,” she responded.

“It would take a whole lot more than that to eat out someone's brain.”

“Well, maybe there were more,” she argued.

“I don't know, sounds like a stretch to me.”

“Well, we need more information on the area, the neighborhood, whether something like this has ever happened before.”

“I know a good place to start,” Dean said. “Kind of hungry for a little barbeque, how about you guys?”

They all gave Dean a condescending look.

“What?” he asked. “We can't talk to the locals?”

“And the free food's got nothing to do with it?” Sam asked.

“Of course not, I'm a professional.”

“Right,” Ellie muttered, leaning back into the seat.

Dean parked, and they all got out of the car.

_How the hell can he parallel park so easily?_

_No idea, Nox._

“Growing up in a place like this would freak me out,” Ellie said.

“Why?”

“The manicured lawns, the 'how was your day, honey',” she stated. “Reminds me too much of my hometown.”

Nox rolled his eyes. “Milford wasn't that bad.”

“Oh, but it was.”

“There's nothing wrong with normal,” Sam stated.

“Oh, no, of course not. Hell, Nox and I grew up pretty normal. Our hometown was just... hell.”

“It wasn't that bad.”

“He's lying.”

They walked up to the front door, where they knocked and waited for someone to answer.

“Welcome,” an older man with gray hair and a tan colored tuxedo jacket said when he answered the door.

“Is this the barbeque?”

“Yeah, not the best weather, but... I'm Larry Pike, the developer here, and you are?”

“Dean, this is Sam, Ellie, and Nox.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said with a pleasant smile Ellie was immediately suspicious of. “So, you four are interested in Oasis Plains?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Let me just say that we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or... sexual orientation... and their children.”

Ellie looked wide eyed at the man, while Nox stifled his laughter.

_He's just saying that because I'm short, isn't he?_

_Oh yeah._

“W-We're brother's,” Dean told him, gesturing to himself and Sam. “Those two are just uh... friends.”

“Our father is getting on in his years, we're just looking for a place for him.”

“Great, great. Well, seniors are welcome, too,” Larry told them, brushing off his previous comment like it was nothing. “Come on in.”

They all walked through the house, into the backyard, where lots of people – mostly realtors – were gathered.

“You said you were the developer?” Sam asked.

“18 months ago, I was walking this valley with my survey team. There was nothing here but scrub brush and squirrels, and you know what? We built such a nice place to live that I actually bought into it myself – this is our house. We're the first family in Oasis Plains. This is my wife – Joanie.”

“Hi there, nice to meet you,” a blonde woman with shoulder length blonde hair said with a sweet smile. Ellie was immediately suspicious of her as well.

_You don't have to be suspicious of everyone who smiles, Ellie._

_Yes I do._

“This is Sam, Dean, Ellie, and Nox,” Larry said, gesturing to all of them while Joanie shook their hands.

“Pleasure.”

“Tell them how much you love the place, honey,” Larry encouraged. “And lie if you need to because I need to sell houses.”

Ellie resisted the urge to roll her eyes, instead plastering on a smile.

“Boys, miss, if you'll excuse me.”

“Don't let his salesman routine scare you,” Joanie said as Larry walked away. “This really is a great place to live.”

“Hi,” a middle-aged woman with black hair said, standing behind Joanie. “I'm Linda Bloom, head of sales.”

“Linda was second to move in. She's a very noisy neighbor, though,” Joanie told them, walking away.

Linda laughed, though Ellie could sense that Joanie wasn't kidding.

“She's kidding, of course,” Linda said with a large, seemingly fake smile. “I take it you are interested in becoming homeowners.”

“Well --” Dean started.

“Yeah,” Ellie and Sam interrupted at the same time.

“Well, let me just say that we accept homeowners any race, religion, color, or... sexual orientation, and their--”

“We're not their children, just friends,” Ellie told her, and she nodded. “And they're--”

“I'm gonna go talk to Larry,” Dean interrupted. “Okay, honey?”

Dean walked away, and Ellie sighed.

_Did he just smack Sam's ass?_

_That he did._

As Linda was telling them about the different features in the very expensive homes, Ellie looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary...

“Excuse me,” she heard Sam say, and she tuned back in, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows.

Linda walked away, and Sam took a couple of steps before picking up a rather large tarantula.

_Did he really just pick that up?!_

_Nox, it's just a tarantula, it's not going to hurt you._

_You know I hate bugs._

_Yes, I know. I'm well aware._

_Shut up._

“Stay here, I'll be back,” Ellie told her brother, following Sam as he walked towards a teenager with brown hair.

“Is this yours?” she asked as they reached him.

“You gonna tell my dad?” the teenager asked.

“I don't know, who's your dad?” Sam asked.

“Oh, yeah, Larry usually skips family introductions.”

“Ouch, first-name basis with the old man – sounds pretty grim.”

“Well, I'm not exactly brochure material.”

“Well, hang in there, it gets better. I promise.”

“When?”

“Matthew!”

They all turned to see Larry standing a few feet from them, an angry look on his face. He stalked towards them, standing next to his son and looking at Sam and Ellie, the angry look immediately fading.

“I'm so sorry about my son and his... pet.”

“It's no bother at all,” Ellie told him with a smile.

“Excuse us,” Larry muttered, pulling his son aside.

“Remind you of somebody?” Sam asked his brother. Ellie looked at Nox, who had rejoined them. Her brother shrugged.

“Dad?” Sam provided when Dean looked at him, still confused.

“Dad never treated us like that,” Dean argued.

_I'm sure he did._

_I wouldn't doubt it._

“Well, dad never treated you like that, you were perfect. He was all over my case.”

Dean shrugged, once again looking over at Larry and his son.

“You don't remember?”

“Maybe he had to raise his voice, sometimes you were out of line.”

“Right,” Sam replied. “Right, like when I said I'd rather play soccer than learn bow hunting.”

_Should I say something?_

_Uh, no, Ellie. Let them fight this out._

“Hey, bow hunting is an important skill,” Dean argued.

“Whatever. How was your tour?”

“Oh, it was excellent, I'm ready to buy,” Dean said sarcastically. “So you and Ellie might have been onto something. Looks like Dustin Burwash wasn't the first strange death around here.”

“What happened?” Ellie asked, crossing her arms.

“About a year ago, before they broke ground, one of Larry's surveyors dropped dead while on the job. Get this – severe allergic reaction to beestings.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Ellie saw Nox shiver.

“More bugs,” Sam concluded.

“More bugs.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

 

“I've heard of killer bees, but killer beetles?”

They were back in the Impala, only this time, Sam was driving.

“What is it that could make different bugs attack?” Ellie muttered.

“Well, haunting sometimes include bug manifestations,” Nox told them.

“But I didn't see any evidence of ghost activity,” Dean told them.

“Yeah, me neither,” Sam added.

“Maybe they're being controlled somehow – by something or someone,” Ellie theorized.

“You mean like 'Willard'?”

“Yeah, bugs instead of rats.”

“There are cases of psychic connections between people and animals, elementals, telepaths.”

“Yeah, the whole Timmy/Lassie thing.”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Larry's kid, bugs for pets,” she pointed out.

“Matt?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, him.”

“He did try to scare the realtor with a tarantula.”

“Think he's our Willard?”

“I don't know, anything's possible, I guess.”

_I don't like this. Why does it have to be bugs?  
You'll be fine, Nox. Don't be such a baby._

_I don't give you this much hell when we have to deal with an asylum._

“Hey, pull over here,” Ellie heard Dean say, and Sam obliged.

Ellie raised an eyebrow and looked at her brother, who shared her expression.

“Dean, what the hell are we doing here?” he asked.

“It's too late to talk to anybody else,” Dean replied, going to the garage and opening it.

“We're gonna squat in an empty house?” Ellie demanded.

“I want to try the steam shower, come on.”

Sam looked back at the brother and sister, who both shrugged their shoulders, before driving into garage.

 

The next day, as they were listening to the police scanner, a call came about a dead body three blocks from where they were.

As Nox and Sam prepared to leave, Ellie went to the bathroom, where she could hear the shower running. She sighed in annoyance and pounded on the door.

“You ever coming out of there?” she demanded loudly.

“What?!”

“A police call came in on the scanner,” she informed him, hands resting on her hips.

“Hold on.”

“A dead body was found three blocks from here – come on!”

The water shut off, and Dean opened the door with a towel around his head and waist.

“This shower is awesome.”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “First of all, you have no hair. Second of all, get some clothes on and get your ass out here now.”

“Yes mother,” he replied, shutting the door. Ellie rolled her eyes and walked away, going downstairs towards the garage.

“I swear to God, Sam, I'm gonna kill your brother.”

 

_It's raining. Of course it's raining._

The Impala parked against the curb, and they all exited, holding umbrellas.

“Hey, you're back early,” Larry said as they walked up to him.

“Yeah we, uh, wanted to take another look around the neighborhood,” Ellie replied, looking around at the police officers.

“What's going on?” Sam asked.

“You guys met Linda Bloom at the barbecue?”

“The realtor.”

“Well, she, uh, passed away last night.”

“What happened?” Nox asked as they all acted shocked.

“I'm still trying to figure it out. I identified the body for the police. I'm sorry – this isn't a good time.”

“It's okay.”

“Excuse me,” Larry said, walking away.

“You know what we have to do, right?” Dean asked his brother.

“We got to get into that house.”

“See if we got a bug problem.”

_Thank God they're not talking about necrophilia._

_Not funny, Ellie._

_It was to me._

“Are we Orkin men now?” Ellie asked as they climbed around the side of the house.

“Essentially,” Sam answered.

“Fuckin' great.”

They approached a fence, and Dean observed the height of it before looking at Ellie.

“You sure you can make this?”

“Probably not,” Ellie replied, taking off her oversized jacket and tying it around her waist. “But I can sure as hell try.”

She jumped up, trying to reach the webbing of the fence, and she saw Sam roll his eyes out of the corner off her eye.

“I'll boost you,” he told her, and before she could protest, his hands were on her waist, lifting her so she could easily grab the webbing. His hands then moved to her hips _,_ then disappeared as she gained her footing and climbed in the window.

_The butt has been touched._

_Shut the fuck up._

After they all joined Ellie, Sam shut the window, where they observed the scene of the crime. Broken glass and blood littered the carpet.

Dean stepped into the bathroom, where more glass and blood lay, along with a cream colored towel. Dean lifted the towel, and Ellie flinched back when rubber spiders fell out.

“Spiders.”

_Thank you, captain obvious._

_Why did it have to be spiders?_

“From spider boy?” Ellie asked, ignoring Nox's comment.

“Matt,” Sam corrected. “Maybe.”

They looked around the room, and when they realized there was nothing for them, Dean opened the window they came in through.

“By the way, Ellie,” he said. “Nice tattoos.”

Ellie raised an eyebrow, looking at the tattoos littering both of her arms. “Uh... thanks.”

 

They waited by Matt's bus stop, and soon after they parked, the off-yellow bus pulled up and stopped. Matt stepped out, but instead of going towards his house, he headed off towards the woods.

“Isn't his house that way?”

“Yep.”

“So where's he going?”

“Into the forest, what does it look like?” Nox replied quietly, and Ellie bit her lip to keep from smiling.

They all stepped out of the car, and followed Matt into the forest, where they found him observing a stick bug. Ellie saw Nox shiver.

“Hey, Matt. Remember us?” Sam asked.

“What are you doing out here?”

“We want to talk to you,” Ellie replied, crossing her arms.

“You're not here to buy a house, are you?”  
“No, we're not. He's smart, I like him,” Nox said.

“W-Wait, you're not serial killers?” Matt asked.

“No, no, I think you're safe,” Sam replied, looking at Ellie and Nox. Ellie rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, you're definitely safe,” she told him.

“So, Matt, you sure know a lot about insects,” Dean observed.

“So?”

_So, it's fucking weird._

_Nox, to each his own._

“Did you hear what happened to Linda, the realtor?”

“I heard she died this morning.”

“Mm, that's right. Spider bites.”

“And the shit-ton of glass they found in her, because _someone_ thought it would be a good idea to walk through the glass door,” Nox added, and Ellie looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

“Do us all a favor, shut up.”

“Matt,” Sam said, bringing the conversation back. “You tried to scare her with a spider.”

“Wait, so you think I had something to do with that?” Matt demanded.

“You tell us.”

“That tarantula was a joke,” Matt replied. “Anyway, that wouldn't explain the bee attack, or the gas company guy!”

“You know about those?”

“There's something going on here. I don't know what, but something's going on with the insects,” Matt informed them. “Let me show you something.”

Matt lead them out of the clearing, walking them through the forest. Sam and Matt had a conversation that Ellie didn't bother to listen to.

_Sam relates strongly to this kid._

_Really? I wasn't listening._

_Really Ellie?_

_What?!_

_It had to do with the case!_

_Ah, whatever, fill me in later._

They reached another clearing, which was filled with all kinds of chirping and buzzing.

“What the hell?” Ellie muttered.

“I've been keeping track of insect population. It's part of an A.P. science class.”

“You two are like peas in a pod,” Dean commented.

“Shut up, Winchester,” Ellie said.

“What's been happening?” Sam asked.

“A lot. Everything from bees, earthworms, beetles... you name it, it's like their congregating here.”

“Great,” Nox muttered.

“Why?”

“I don't know.”

_Real helpful._

_Nox, I swear to God, I'm gonna punch you in the throat._

_You can't reach it._

_I'll kick you in the balls then._

_Please don't._

“What's that?” Sam said, looking at a dark pile of dirt on the ground. It looked almost like a freshly dug grave.

Dean shrugged and was the first one to walk over to the dirt, Ellie soon to follow. The dirt caved in when Dean stepped on it, and after staring at it for a moment, he knelt in front of the hollowed ground. Grabbing a stick that was nearby, he poked around where the dirt had collapsed, eventually tapping the stick on something solid.

“There's something down there,” he observed.

_Level two in observation skill reached._

After a moment, Dean put the stick aside and reached inside the hole, trying to grab whatever was solid. He dug around for awhile longer before pulling a human skull covered in dirt and earthworms.

_That's fuckin' nasty._

_Tell me about it._

With a disgusted face, he shook off the worms and looked at his brother, who shrugged.

 


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

 

While the Winchesters went to talk to an anthropology professor, Ellie and Nox decided to stay in the house. Both of them sat on the hardwood floor, Nox on his laptop, Ellie throwing a tennis ball against the pristine white wall.

“The neighbors are gonna hear you,” Nox said, clearly annoyed with her.

Ellie shrugged. “No fucks are given.”

“Goddammit, Ellie. At least don't make a hole in the wall.”

Ellie rolled her eyes, and pulled her phone out of her front pocket as it began to ring. She quirked a brow as she recognized the caller I.D.

“Hey, Bobby, what's up?”

_“Just checkin' in. How's it going.”_

“Depends on the day. Any leads on John?”

_“Not yet.”_

“Parents?”

_“Nothin'.”_

“Well, fuck.”

_“Where are you two anyway? It's echoing like nobody's business.”_

“Uh... an empty house in a rich neighborhood.”

_“What the hell you two doin' in an empty house.”_

“Squatting,” Ellie answered with a pause.

There was a moment of silence before Bobby spoke again. _“You're with John's boys, aren't you?”_

“Yeah, we are. How the hell did you guess that, do they often stay in unfurnished homes?”

_“No, it just sounds like something their daddy would do. What the hell are you doing with them?”_

“What do you think we're doing, Bobby? We're trying to find John.”

_“All right, take the attitude down about ten notches.”_

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Sir, yes, sir.”

_“Do they at least have anythin' on where the hell he might be?”_

“No. Honestly, I don't think they're trying too hard to look for him, but that's just me. Nox has been trying with his cell phone tracking shit but John never turns on his phone.”

She heard Bobby sigh. _“He doesn't want to be found.”_

“So why the hell are they looking for him?”

_“The same could be said to you.”_

“It's different – John owes my mom a favor. He promised her that he'd help us if anything happened to her, and he's not getting off the hook that easily.”

_“Just keep that in mind, Ellie.”_

“Will do.”

Bobby hung up the phone, and Ellie put her phone down next to her. She laid down on the hardwood floor, staring up at the ceiling.

“Let's hope the boys aren't fucking up too bad,” Ellie commented, and she didn't have to look over to know Nox was rolling his eyes.

 

The black Impala pulled up to the University, and Dean shut off the engine. The brother stepped out, and Sam took off his jacket and placed it over the bones they found. He picked up the box, shut the door, and walked towards the door.

“So, a bunch of skeletons in an unmarked grave,” he started.

“Yeah, maybe this is a haunting. Some pissed off spirits, some unfinished business.”

“Yeah, maybe. But the question is, why bugs and why now?”

“That's two questions,” Dean pointed out. “So, with that kid back there – how could you tell him to just ditch his family like that?”

“Just uh... I know what the kids going through,” Sam replied, his annoyance returning.

“How about telling him to respect his old man? How's that for advice?”

“Dean, come on. This isn't about his old man, you think I didn't respect dad. That's what this is about.”

“Just forget it, alright? Sorry I brought it up.”

“I respected him. But no matter what I did, it was never good enough.”

“What are you saying, that dad was disappointed in you?”

“Was?” Sam asked. “Is... always has been.”

“Why would you think that?” Dean demanded.

“Because I didn't want to go hunt, because I didn't want to hustle pool. Because I wanted to go to school and live my life, which in _our_ whacked-out family made me the freak.”

“Yeah, you were kind of like the blonde chick in 'The Munsters'.”

“Dean, you know what most dads are when their kids score a full ride? Proud. Most dads don't toss their kids out of the house.”

“I remember that fight. In fact, I seem to remember a few choice phrases coming out of your mouth.”

“You know, truth is, when we finally find dad, I don't know if he's even gonna want to see me.”

“Sam, dad was never disappointed in you. Never. He was scared.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He was afraid of what could've happened to you if he wasn't around. But even when you two weren't talking, he used to swing by Stanford whenever he could, keep an eye on you, make sure you were safe.”

“What?” Sam asked. Part of him suspected his brother was lying, the other part hoped he was telling the truth.

“Yeah.”

“Why didn't he tell me any of that?”

“Well, it's a two-way street, dude,” Dean told him, as if it was so obvious. “You could've picked up the phone.”

Sam clenched his jaw, pulse pounding in his temple, as he digested his brother's words. There was nothing but silence between the two.

“Come on, we're gonna be late for our appointment.”

 

“So, let me get this straight, those were Native American bones, and they're building a suburb on this cursed land?” Ellie asked, quirking an arched brow.

“Exactly,” Dean answered.

“And tonight is the last night of this 'spring equinox, and Larry's family is the next target?”

“Now you're getting it.”

“All right, well, what are we waiting for? Let's get them out of here.”

 


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

 

“Yes, Mr. Pike, there's a main-line gas leak in your neighborhood.”

_“Oh, God, really? And how big?”_

“Well, it's fairly extensive. I don't want to alarm you, but we need your family out of the vicinity for at least 12 hours or so, just to be safe.”

_“And who is this again?”_

“Travis Weaver, I work for Oklahoma gas and power.”

_“Uh huh, well, the problem is, I know Travis, he's worked with us for a year, so who is this?”_

“Uh...” Dean started, but thought better, and hung up the phone.

“Yeah, it was highly unlikely he was going to believe that,” Ellie said, crossing her arms and leaning against the backseat.

“Thanks for the input,” Dean replied.

“Give me the phone,” Sam demanded, and Dean handed him the cell phone. Sam dialed a number.

_“Hello?”_

“Matt, it's Sam.”

_“Sam, my backyard is crawling with cockroaches!”_

“Crawling with what?” Nox asked quietly.

“Cockroaches, you know, the things that survive half a bottle of Raid and a vacuum cleaner? Yeah, those fuckers,” Ellie said.

“Matt, just listen. You need to get your family out of that house right now.”

_“What, why?”_

“Because something's coming.”

_“More bugs?”_

“Yeah, a lot more.”

“Oh, just great,” Ellie heard Nox say.

_“My dad doesn't listen to me, and besides, it's 11:30 at night.”_

“You gotta make him listen, okay?!”

“Give me the phone, give me the phone,” Dean demanded, and was handed the cell phone. “Matt, under no circumstances are you to tell him the truth, he'll just think you're nuts.”

“What kind of shit advice is that?!” Ellie demanded, and Dean looked at her through the rear-view mirror.

_“B-But he's my--”_

“Tell him you have a sharp pain in your right side and you got to go to the hospital,” Dean instructed.

_“Yeah... yeah, okay.”_

The call ended, and Dean threw the cell phone down next to him.

“'Make him listen',” Dean muttered. “What are you thinking.”

“Okay, you know what, I've had it. This is no time for daddy issues and who had it worse and who daddy loved more,” Ellie snapped. “We have a case, right here, right now, and we need to focus, okay?! Peoples lives are on the line here, and you two need to get the fuck over yourselves, got it?!”

No one answered, and Ellie didn't expect them to.

 

They pulled up to the home, where they noticed that lights were still on.

“Damn it, they're still here, come on,” Dean said, and they all exited the car.

Almost immediately, Larry opened the door, glaring at them. Ellie almost flinched back at the intensity of the glare, and she felt bad for Matt.

“Get off my property before I call the cops!” he said.

“Mr. Pike, listen,” Ellie started.

“Dad, they're just trying to help,” Matt added.

“Get in the house!”

“Don't talk to your child that way!” Ellie yelled, and Larry glared at her.

“I'm sorry,” Matt said. “I told him the truth.”

“We had a plan, Matt, what happened to the plan?”

“Look, it's 12 A.M. They are coming any minute now. You need to get your family and go before it's too late.”

“What, do you mean before the biblical swarm?” Larry demanded, his voice dripping with disbelief.

“Larry, what do you really think to that realtor, huh?” Ellie demanded, her voice raising. “The gas company guy? You don't think something weird is going on here?!”

“Look, I don't know who you are, but you're crazy. You come near my boy or my family again, we're gonna have a problem.”

“Well, I hate to be a downer, but we got a problem right now,” Dean told him.

“Dad, they're right, okay? We're in danger.”

“Matt, get inside, now!”

“No! Why won't you listen to me?!”

“Because this is crazy, it doesn't make any sense!”

“Look, this land is cursed, people have died here! Are you really gonna take that risk with your family?!” Nox demanded.

“Wait,” Ellie said loudly, and everyone went silent. The only sound to be heard was insects buzzing. “You hear that, smart ass?”

“What the hell?” Larry muttered.

Soon after, the electric bug zapper started sparking, and Ellie gave him a knowing look.

“Larry, it's time to go,” Dean said, and Larry nodded. “Get your wife.”

“Guys...” Matt said, his words trailing off. Ellie looked over in the same direction, and saw a cloud of insects heading towards them.

“Oh, shit...” she muttered.

“We're not gonna make it.”

“Everybody in the house,” Dean replied, going up the steps. Ellie grabbed onto her brother's arm, dragging him into the home, though she was almost positive it wasn't the best course of action.

“Is there anyone else in the neighborhood?” Sam asked as they shut the door.

“No, it's just us.”

“Honey, what's happening? What's that noise?” Ellie heard Joanie ask.

“Basement, storm shelter, anything,” Ellie said, looking at Larry, who shook his head.

“We haven't built a storm shelter yet.”

“It's Oklahoma! Don't you guys get tornadoes?!” she demanded.

“Call 911,” Larry told his wife, who nodded and went to the phone.

“I need towels. We got to lock this place up,” Dean said.

“The phones are dead!” Joanie said.

“Shit,” Ellie cursed, running a hand through her hair. “They must've chewed through the phone lines.”

As Dean started sealing the cracks of the doors with towels, the lights in the home went out.

“Son of a bitch,” Ellie and Nox said simultaneously.

“And the power lines,” Dean added.

“Maybe my cell,” Larry said, picking up his phone and looking at it. “No signal!”

“They're blanketing the house,” Ellie told him. “You're not gonna get one.”

“Great. This is a nightmare,” Nox muttered.

“So what do we do now?”

“We try to outlast it,” Sam said as Dean left the room. “Hopefully the curse will end at sunrise.”

“Easier said than done,” Ellie muttered.

“Hopefully?”

“Yeah, well, since there's jack shit on the tribe that lived here or the curse, we can't exactly know, now can we?!” Ellie demanded.

Dean came back into the room, carrying a can of bug spray.

“Bug spray?!” Joanie asked.

“Trust me,” Dean replied.

A creaking noise filled the house, and they all looked towards the fireplace.

“What is that?!”

“The flue,” Sam replied.

“No one thought to close the damn chimney?” Nox demanded.

“I think everyone needs to get upstairs,” Dean said.

Suddenly, the loudest creak yet was heard, and a cloud of bees came pouring out of the fireplace. Ellie shrieked, grabbing her brother's arm and going towards the stairs. They followed Larry and his family up the the attic, letting them go first.

“Go, go!” Sam told her, and she climbed up the ladder, followed by her brother. After scaring the bees away with the fire-lit bug spray, Sam closed the attic door.

Ellie barely got a moment to breathe and check on her brother before Joanie noticed sawdust falling from the ceiling.

“What's that?”

“Something's eating through the wood.”

“Termites,” Ellie muttered, and Nox's grip on her arm tightened.

“All right, everyone get back, get back!”

The ceiling caved in, and more bees flooded in. Ellie's free arm shot up to protect her face, the other looking for something to cover the hole.

She found a square piece of plywood and a rectangular one that looked about the height of the floor to the ceiling, and, with Dean's help, covered the hole in the ceiling.

Again, barely a moment to breathe before another hole in the ceiling was created, the bees flooding in and immediately going for Larry's family. Dean began to fight them off with his fire-bug-spray concoction, but eventually, that ran out, and the plywood fell from the ceiling, causing more bees to swarm.

Eventually, they all huddled together, enduring bee sting after bee sting, until...

“Look!”

Ellie looked up, and saw the pink rays of sunlight beginning to poke through the holes in the ceiling, and the bees began to fly away.

The Winchesters stood, and Ellie sat back on her haunches and finally breathed a sigh of relief, almost laughing. She looked at her brother, who had the same look of relief, and only then did she start laughing.

 

One last time, they pulled up to Larry's home to see him packing the last box into the moving truck.

“What, no goodbye?” Dean asked, and Ellie rolled her eyes.

“Good timing,” Larry told them. “Another hour and we'd have been gone.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The development's been put on hold while the government investigates those bones you found. But I'm gonna make damn sure no one lives here again.”

“You don't seem too upset about it,” Ellie pointed out.

“Well, this has been the biggest financial disaster of my career, but, somehow... I really don't care.”

As Sam went over to talk to Matt, then to his brother, Ellie looked over at her brother.

“That kid is never going to like bugs again,” she said quietly, and he suppressed a smile.

“You know it.”

The two brothers talked for a few more moments before Ellie heard them calling her and her brother.

“Come on, thing one and two want to talk to us,” she said, walking towards the Impala, Nox on her heels.

“What's up?” Ellie asked, crossing her arms.

“We made a pretty good team,” Dean said.

“Mostly Nox and I make up for your stupidity,” Ellie corrected with a smile. “I'm kidding. You're right. Don't hate being in our presence anymore?”

“Not exactly. Can't say we ever did.”

“Oh, you definitely weren't happy,” Nox said, mimicking Ellie's pose.

Sam quirked a brow. “How do you know that?”

Ellie sighed, looking at her brother. “We may as well tell them.”

“We may as well,” Nox agreed. Ellie rubbed her forehead and looked back at the Winchester brothers.

“There's no easy way to put this so I'm just gonna be blunt.”

“I've noticed you usually are,” Dean replied.

“Thanks,” Ellie said with a smile. “Anyway, our mom was... different. She's what you'd call a Seer, she can see deteriorating ghosts. We're not... really sure why, but, uh... we have these special abilities. We can both uh... telecommunicate and read minds.”

Silence, then Dean began to laugh.

“You're joking.”

Ellie raised an eyebrow. “Why is that so hard to believe? You hunt demons and ghosts for a living.”

“What am I thinking right now then?”

“You're thinking that I'm a crazy bitch, and you're brother is thinking 'Dean, don't say anything stupid'.”

The two brothers stared at Ellie and Nox, neither of them really knowing what to say.

“Just thought you might want to know,” she said, uncrossing her arms. “So, let's hit the road.”

“Yeah, let's,” Dean replied after a few moments.

 


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 

On their way out of town, they stopped at a bar. Ellie wasn't exactly in the drinking mood, so she had a rum and coke.

“Those two are really getting fucked up,” Ellie commented as she sat next to Sam on the bar stool, motioning towards Dean and Nox, who had taken so many shots she'd lost count. “And my brother's a lightweight.”

“He's nineteen,” Sam replied, and Ellie looked at him.

“Say it louder, I don't think the bartender heard you.”

“Sorry,” Sam replied with a laugh.

Ellie rolled her eyes, taking another drink. “That's the first time I've seen you smile since I've been with you and your brother. What's with that?”

“I really don't want to talk about it,” Sam answered quietly, opting to look away from her.

Ellie sighed. “I get it. Loosing someone you love is hard. Been there, done that.”

Sam looked at her, and it was Ellie's turn to look away. “Let's just say that I got into demon hunting for a reason, and it wasn't just for the hell of it.”

He nodded, and looked to where Dean and Nox were sitting, only to find them gone. “Where the hell did they go?”

Ellie looked over and shrugged. “They've got cell phones, they'll be fine.”

 

Back at the motel, Nox helped Dean onto one of the beds, then left to the bathroom. Though he wasn't really drunk, he still didn't want to go to sleep with alcohol in his system. He didn't want to wake up with a hangover tomorrow.

He splashed cold water on his face, and dried off. That would have to do for now.

Nox left the bathroom, and it was then that he realized Dean wasn't on the bed anymore. Instead, he was standing, waiting for him.

They kissed. Once, twice. That turned into a few neck kisses, and sloppy French kisses. Dean had Nox pinned onto the hard motel bed, passionately kissing the other man. The two barely came up for air.

The shirts were the first to go. Dean ran his hand over Nox’s belly and chest, then sliding his hand behind the other man’s head, pulling it closer to his own. Nox ruffled Dean’s hair, pulling slightly. Dean released from kissing, and pulled a gold-wrapped condom out of his wallet.

* * *

 

Ellie sat across from Sam. They decided on McDonald’s, Sam wasn’t too hungry, but a slightly drunken Ellie was.

Suddenly stopped, and began to burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

“Are you that drunk?” Sam said, confused.

“No, I'm not that drunk,” Ellie said, barely pausing from the laughter. She rolled her eyes as Sam continued to give her a confused look, complete with a quirked brow.  
“Your brother is doing mine. And no, this is not the alcohol talking.”

They stared at each other before they both began to laugh, Sam shaking his head.

“We should probably get our own motel room because... ew.”

“Agreed.”

* * *

 

The morning sun was bright in the eyes of a hungover Dean. He kind of regretted drinking so much, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He sat up, noticing a weight difference on the bed, but not giving it too much attention. He went to go stretch, and he felt a warm, soft object graze his hand. A groggy groan followed, and the other person sat up as well. Dean looked, horrified, as Nox sat up beside him.

“It looks like the love birds are awake.” Ellie said, spinning the roller chair around to face Dean and Nox. She had a cup of hot tea, and was already dressed.

Nox began to realize what was going on. Both he and Dean were naked, in the same bed. His head began to pound.

“Aw, are you hungover?” Ellie said in a sweetly sarcastic voice.

The door opened, and Sam walked in carrying a box of donuts and coffee. He raised an eyebrow at the two men in the bed, but rolled his eyes and looked back at Ellie.

“See,” Ellie said, gesturing towards the two in the bed. “I told you.”

“That you did... that you did.”

“Alright, let's go,” she said. She pulled a bottle of Aspirin out of her jacket pocket and threw it on the bed.

“Have fun. But not too much, even though sex is a natural remedy for a headache.”

“Shut up, Ellie,” Dean groaned, falling back against the bed.

 


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

 

The scene was dark. An old house was the focus, and more specifically, a blonde woman in the window, pounding at the glass. She was screaming, but no words could be heard. He could make out what she was saying, though – “help me”.

Pure terror. He could feel it, he could see it –

And he woke with a start, heart racing and palms sweating. He looked around, and he was in the motel room. Ellie lay next to him, still peacefully sleeping on her stomach, as were Dean and Nox. He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and laid back down, but didn’t sleep for the rest of the night.

 

“All right, been cruising some websites,” Dean said. “Found a few candidates for our next gig. A fishing trawler found off the coast of Cali – its crew vanished. And we got some cattle mutilations up in west Texas…”

“Hey,” Ellie said when she noticed Sam wasn’t paying attention at all. She lightly smacked his leg, and he looked at her. “Are we boring you with this hunting evil shit?”

“No, I’m listening, keep going.”

_He was so not listening._

_Yeah, thank you, Nox._

“And here a Sacramento man shot himself in the head, three times,” Dean continued, holding up three fingers.

“Any of these things blowing up your skirt, pal?” he asked his brother as he waved his hands around.

_What the fuck is wrong with him?_

_I have no idea._

“Wait, I’ve seen this,” Sam said, not answering Dean’s question.

“Seen what, that tree you’ve been obsessively drawing all morning?” Ellie asked. “I’d hope so.”

Sam didn’t answer her, instead going to his bag and pulling out John’s journal.

“What are you doing?”

Ellie and Nox exchanged a look, and both siblings shrugged. Sam pulled a picture out, matching it to the tree he had been drawing.

“Dean, I know where we have to go next.”

“Where?”

“Back home,” Sam said, as if it was obvious, and Ellie raised a brow. “Back to Kansas.”

_This is gonna be interesting._

_Oh, yeah._

“Okay, random,” Dean said, hiding the fact that he, in his head, was not happy with his brother’s suggestion.

“Where the hell did that come from?” Ellie asked, sitting cross-legged.

“Alright, um, this photo was taken in front of our old house, right?” Sam asked, handing the picture to his older brother. “The house where mom died?”

_Why would he ask that?_

_Again, no idea._

“Yeah…”

“It didn’t burn down completely, I mean, they rebuilt it, right?”

“I guess so, yeah. What the hell are you talking about?”

“I second that,” Ellie said. “And I think I speak for Nox as well.”

“Okay, this is gonna sound crazy, but the people who live in our old house, I think they might be in danger.”

“Why would you think that?” Nox asked, speaking out loud for the first time. Ellie tried to ignore the tension between the two of them.

“Uh… I just uh…”

“Sam, try to not be awkward for two seconds,” Ellie snapped.

“Look, just – you got to trust me on this, okay?”

“Whoa, trust you?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s kind of a thing siblings do,” Ellie said, and Dean glared at her.

“You got to give me a little bit more than that,” Dean told his brother.

“I can’t really explain it, is all.”

“Well, tough, I’m not going anywhere unless you do.”

“I have these nightmares.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“So have I,” Ellie added.

“And sometimes, they come true.”

“That… I haven’t noticed,” she muttered.

“Come again?” Dean asked with a laugh.

“Look, Dean… I dreamt about Jessica’s death for days before it happened.”

_That sounds fun._

_Totally._

“Sane people have weird dreams, I’m sure it’s just a coincidence,” Ellie told him, standing up. Though she knew she was lying to him, she hoped it would calm his skyrocketing anxiety.

“No, no, I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything, and I didn’t do anything ‘cause I didn’t believe it. Now I’m dreaming about the tree? About our house, and some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, that’s where it all started, that’s got to mean something, right?”

“Okay, first of all,” Ellie said, crossing her tattooed arms. “You’re talking a million miles an hour, slow down and take a breath before you turn blue. Second of all, we don’t know if it means anything.”

“I agree with Ellie.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?! This woman might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed mom and Jessica!”

_He’s hell bent on revenge isn’t he?_

_Oh, yeah._

“All right, just slow down, would you?!” Dean demanded, standing from his motel bed. “I mean, first of all, you tell me that you got the Shining? And then you tell me that I’ve gotta go back home, especially when…”

He trailed off, and Sam raised his eyebrows. “When what?!”

“When I swore to myself I’d never go back there?”

There was a moment of silence, and Sam stood as well.

“Look, Dean, we have to check this out,” he told him. “Just to be sure.”

“I agree with Sam, if it matters,” Ellie added.

“I know we do,” he replied, looking at the both of them.

 

They drove to Kansas, Ellie and Nox communicating through their minds the entire way.

After what felt like hours, they pulled up to a two-story, blue home with the tree Sam was drawing earlier in front.

“You gonna be alright, man?” Sam asked Dean, who couldn’t stop staring at the home. Ellie, from reading his mind and seeing the images, knew he wouldn’t be, but she wasn’t going to say that.

“Let me get back to you on that.”

The four of them stepped out of the car and walked towards the house, climbing the steps and knocking on the front door. A blonde woman with a kind face opened the door, and looked at the four of them.

“Sorry to bother you, ma’am, but we’re with the federal—“

“I’m Sam Winchester, this is my brother, Dean. Um… we used to live here. You know, we were just driving by and we were wondering if we could see the old place.”

“That is so funny. You know, I-I think I found some of your photos the other night,” she said.

“You did?” Dean asked.

“Come on in,” the woman said with a smile, and the four of them entered the home, Dean the most hesitant.

They followed the woman into the kitchen, where a young girl was sitting at the table, and a toddler was in the crib.

“That’s Richie, he’s kind of a juice junkie,” the woman said.

_He’s gonna be a different kind of ‘juice junkie’ when he’s my age._

_Ellie!_

_What?!_

Nox didn’t reply, instead discretely pinching her arm. Ellie flinched and smacked his hand away, causing Sam to look over at them.

“But hey, at least he won’t get scurvy!” the woman continued cheerfully, unlocking the refrigerator and handing her child a sippy cup filled with juice.

“Sari,” she said to the girl, who looked at her. “This is Sam, Dean, and…”

“Ellie and Nox,” Ellie supplied. “We’re friends.”

The blonde woman smiled, looking at her daughter once again. “Sam and Dean used to live here.”

“Hi,” the girl said quietly.

“Hi, Sari,” Sam replied kindly.

_What the fuck kind of name is Sari?_

_Your guess is about as good as mine._

“So, you just moved in?” Dean asked.

“Uh, yeah, from Wichita.”

“Any family here?”

“Uh…. No, I just uh, needed a fresh start, that’s all. So, new town, new job – I mean, as soon as I find one – new house.”

“So, how you liking it so far?” Sam asked.

“Well, uh…. All due respect to your childhood home, I mean, I’m sure you have lots of happy memories here – but this place has its issues.”

“What do you mean?” Ellie asked, her hands going into her back pockets.

“It’s just getting old,” she explained. “Like the wiring, we have flickering lights almost every hour.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. What else?”

“Um… sinks backed up, there’s rats in the basement…”

_I don’t think its rats._

_No shit, Sherlock._

“I’m sorry,” she continued. “I don’t mean to complain.”

“No, have you seen the rats, or just heard scratching?” Dean asked.

“Just the scratching, actually.”

“Mom?” the little girl asked. “Ask them if it was here when they lived here.”

“What, Sari?” Sam asked.

“The thing in my closet,” Sari answered.

“Oh, no, baby, there was nothing in their closets. Right?”

“Right, no. No, of course not.”

“She had a nightmare last night,” the mother explained.

“It came into my bedroom, and it was on fire!”

 

A half hour later, they came out of the home, walking back towards the Impala.

“You hear that, a figure on fire,” Sam said as they left the home.

“And Jenny was the woman in your dreams?” Dean asked.

“Yeah! And you hear what she was talking about? Scratching, flickering lights, both signs of a malevolent spirit!”

“Yeah, we’re just freaked your visions are coming true,” Ellie replied honestly.

“Forget about that for a minute! Do you think it’s the thing that killed mom and Jessica?”

“I don’t know!”

“Well, has it come back or has it been there the whole time?!”

“Or it could be something else entirely, Sam, we don’t know yet,” Ellie told him calmly.

“Well these people are in danger! We have to get them out of that house!”

“And we will.”

“No, I mean now!”

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Ellie asked. “Do you have a story that she’s going to believe?! Or maybe you just plan on forcing her to leave, which is illegal, might I add!”

“Then what are we supposed to do?!” Sam demanded, his voice raising.

“I don’t know, Sam, but we’ll figure it out!” Ellie yelled, and the only sound to be heard was the birds chirping. After a few moments of looking at each other, Ellie got into the backseat of the Impala, followed by her brother and the Winchesters.

 


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

 

“We just got to chill, that's all,” Dean said. They were at a gas station, all four of them standing around the car. “If this was any other kind of job, what would we do?”

_Fuck something up._

_Most likely._

“We'd try to figure out what we were dealing with,” Sam answered. “We'd dig into the history of the house.”

“Exactly, except this time we already know what happened.”

“Yeah, but, how much do we know? How much do you actually remember?”

_So we're assuming the “spirit” is Mary? Why would she be angry?_

_She was murdered horribly. I would be a little pissy, too._

_You're always pissy._

_Thanks, brother._

“About that night, you mean?”

“No, what happened last week,” Ellie replied sarcastically. “Yes, about that night.”

“Not much,” Dean replied, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. She noted he avoided Nox's gaze, and Nox avoided his. She reduced the urge to roll her eyes.

“I remember the fire... the heat.”

_Well, that does come with fire._

_Ellie._

_What?_

_Stop being sarcastic for once._

_Impossible._

“Then I carried you out the front door,” Dean continued.

_That's cute. Too bad I'm pissed at him._

_Ellie, again, you're always pissed off._

_While that may be true, shut up._

“You did?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, well, you never knew that?”

_Obviously not, 'cause you two don't ever talk._

“No.”

“And, uh... you know dad's story as well as I do – mom was on the ceiling, and whatever put her there was long gone by the time dad found her.”

“And he never had a theory about what did it?” Ellie asked, leaning against the car.

“If he did, he kept it to himself,” Dean answered. “God knows we asked him enough times.”

“Okay... so, if we're gonna figure out what's going on now, we have to figure out what happened back then, see if its the same thing.”

_Highly doubt it._

_Why's that?_

_I mean, don't you think it would've killed the mom by now if it was the same thing?_

_Maybe... we don't know yet._

“Yeah. Talk to dad's friends, neighbors, people who were there at the time.”

“Does this feel like just another job to you?”

_I would hope not._

Dean didn't answer, instead got up and lied about going to use the gas station restroom.

 

Their first stop was a garage that John and a friend used to own named Guenther's Auto Repair, where they spoke to John's friend, who still owned it.

“So, you and John Winchester, you used to own this garage together?” Dean asked the man.

“Yeah, we used to, a long time ago. Matter of fact, must be 20 years since John disappeared.”

Ellie resisted the urge to smile or laugh.

“So, why are the cops interested all of a sudden?”

“We're reopening some of our old unsolved cases, the Winchester disappearance is one of them,” Ellie explained, crossing her arms.

“Well, what do you want to know about John?”  
“Whatever you remember. Whatever sticks out in your mind.”

“Well... he was a stubborn bastard, I remember that.”

_Ain't that the goddamn truth._

_You know it._

“And uh... whatever the game, he hated to lose, you know?”

_Sounds like him._

“It was the whole Marine thing.”

_He was a Marine?_

_Really, Ellie?_

_I'm sorry I didn't know! Explains a lot, though._

_You're dumb._

_Oh, really? Why don't you open your mouth and call me dumb instead of standing there like a waste of fucking space?_

Nox glared at her, and she suppressed a smile.

“But, uh.... well, he sure loved Mary, and he doted on those kids.”

_This does not sound like John at all._

_Ellie, it was about 22 years ago._

“But that was before the fire.”

_Obviously._

“That's right.”

“Did he ever talk about that night?”

“No, not at first, I think he was in shock.”

_Or he's just a Winchester, and Winchesters don't talk about jack shit._

_That could be it._

“Right,” Sam replied. “But eventually, what did he say about it.”

“Oh, he wasn't thinking straight. He said, uh... he said something caused that fire and killed Mary.”

“He ever say what did it?”

“Nothing did it, it was an accident. An electrical short in the ceiling or walls or something.”

_Yeah, 'cause that's totally how she ended up on the ceiling._

_Ellie!_

_What?_

_You're a horrible person._

_Well aware._

“I begged him to get some help, but, uh...”

“But what?”

“Oh, it just got worse and worse.”

“How?”

“He started reading these strange old books, going to see this palm reader in town.”

“Palm reader?” Ellie asked, quirking a brow. “You have a name?”

“No,” the man replied with a scoff. Ellie sighed and looked at her brother, who rolled his eyes.

 


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

 

“So, there are a few psychics and palm readers in town. There's someone named El Divino. There's the Mysterious Fortinski. Uh, Missouri Mosely, some dude – “ Sam began.

“Wait -- Missouri Mosely?” Dean interrupted.

_That was rude._

_No shit, Sherlock._

“That's a psychic?”

“Yeah, I-I guess so.”.

Ellie and Nox looked at each other. The name sounded familiar, but neither of them knew why.

“Dad's journal. Come here and look at this,” Dean said as he walked to the back of the Impala, taking John's journal out of the trunk. The rest of the group followed.

“The first sentence, first page. Read this,” he said, laying the book down, and pointing to the minute sentence in question.

“I went to Missouri... and I learned the truth,” Sam read.

“So he didn't mean the state?” Nox said, surprising the rest of the group.

“Apparently not, that's what I always thought he meant,” Dean said, looking the him.

 

The four of them waited in the Victorian-style waiting room. Nox and Ellie sat across from Sam and Dean, who was avoiding all eye contact.

_He won't even look at me._

_What did you expect? You had drunk sex with him. You aren't helping the situation either._

_While you may be right –_

_None of that crap, either._

“All right then, don't you worry about a thing! Your wife is crazy about you,” the short woman said, walking out of the room following a much larger, bald man. She followed him to the large door.

“Phew, poor bastard. His woman cold-bangin' the gardener.”

Ellie flew into a fit of loud laughter.

“Miss Weston, it isn't nice to laugh at other peoples' misfortune.” the woman said, looking at Ellie.

“Why didn't you tell him?” Dean asked.

“People don't come here for the truth. They come here for good news,” she said. “Well... Sam and Dean, Ellie and Nox, come on already. I ain't got all day,” she said, walking into the room.

They all looked puzzled,but followed her any way.

“Well, let me look at you,” she said laughingly, as the four of them piled into the room.

“You boys grew up handsome!” she said. “And you were one goofy lookin' kid too.”

Ellie and Nox burst into an uncontrollable laughter. Sam chuckled a bit too, but was silenced by the look on Dean's face.

“Sam,” She said grabbing Sam's hand. “Oh honey, I'm sorry about your girlfriend. And your father... He's missing? And your parents too?” Missouri said looking at Nox and Ellie.

_How the hell?_

“No swearing in my house,” Missouri said, pointing to Ellie.

“What the fuck?” Ellie asked, looking at her brother. A sudden strike of pain ran up her skull.

“I said no swearing!” Missouri said, pulling back.

“Goddammit...” Ellie muttered, blocking Missouri's hand. “I am learning your ways.”

“How'd you know all that?” Sam asked.

“Well, you were just thinking it, just now.”

“Well, where is he?” Dean asked.

“I don't know.” Missouri said, looking at Nox, who had looked over at the wall.

_Don' t you say a word._

Nox looked at her, confused.

“You're supposed to be a psychic, right?” Dean asked with a quickness.

“Boy, you see me sewin' up some boney trap? You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I cant just pull facts out of thin air! Y'all sit – please,” she said to them.

“Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I'm gonna hit you with a spoon,” she said, sitting down.

“I didn't do anything!” Dean responded.

Ellie burst into yet another fit of laughter.

“Well, you were thinking about it!” Missouri snapped back. Sam began to laugh.

“Okay, so, our dad. When did you first meet him?” Sam asked.

“He came for a reading, a few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you could say I drew back the curtains for him,” she explained.

“What about the fire? Do you know about what killed our mom?” Dean asked.

“A little. Your daddy took me to the house. He was hoping I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing.”

“Could you?” Ellie asked.

“I don't...”

“What was it?” Sam asked.

“I don't know. But it was evil.” She finished, exhaling sharply.

They all sighed, and a moment of silence took over. Ellie sat up straight, and looked at Missouri.

“So, how did you know our parents?” she asked, and Nox looked at her.

“Ellie!”

“What? The boys aren't the only ones looking for their parents – or did you forget?”

“Girl, don't talk to your brother like that,” Missouri scolded. Ellie looked back at the woman, eyebrow raised.

“So, how do you know her?”

“Everyone knew your mom, honey.”

“I know, how did _you_ know her?”

“Through John,” Missouri replied.

Ellie nodded, running a hand over her ponytail. “Do you have any idea where they are?”

“No, honey, I don't. I wish I did.”

 


End file.
